


The Sneeze

by thefluffcat



Category: Bleach
Genre: Chad is here because i love him and he deserves more, F/M, Fluff, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 14:37:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16348574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefluffcat/pseuds/thefluffcat
Summary: Having a roommate with a cold sucks, especially when said roommate is sneezing every few minutes at 1am.





	The Sneeze

**Author's Note:**

> I've been in a sort of writer's block recently, so when my friend and I were discussing whether or not a one-shot just about a sneeze could exist, I was like "why not?" and wrote this for fun.

“Achoo!”

“For the last time. Could you _please_ keep it down out there? I’m trying to sleep!” Rukia said while sliding the closet door open, peaking out to give the redhead a glare that could freeze the flames of hell itself. Though it was unlikely he saw said glare, due to it being relatively dark in the room, but she was hoping the feeling reached him.

“You’re suppose to say god bless you,” Ichigo mumbled, while reaching for a tissue from the box sitting on his bedside stand. "Or gesundheit or something."

“I did the first five or so times, but this is just getting ridiculous,” she sighed, leaning her head against the wooden wall of her makeshift bed.

She had been trying to fall asleep for the past couple hours to no avail. It was already nearing 1am and she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. It definitely didn’t help that she was only running on a few hours of sleep, seeing as they had spent the past couple nights hunting hollows.

Most likely Ichigo had caught the nasty cold that was currently going around the school. This particular cold had already claimed a few victims, as there were more empty desks than usual in their home room yesterday.

_He seemed fine during the day so I wonder when he was exposed to it?_ She pondered to herself, but was startled as another loud sneeze resounded in the small space. Her head jerking reflexively right into the hard wood behind her.

A hiss of pain slipped out between her teeth as she rubbed the back of her head.

She was going to blame Keigo for this.

“Achoo!”

He _did_ sneeze in their general direction during math class today.

“Achoo!”

But the real cause of her misery at the moment was right on the other side of the room.

Grabbing one of Ichigo’s shirts that was hanging in her room, yes, _her room_ , that was technically a closet, Rukia bundled it into a ball and hurled it in the general direction of the lump under the covers.

“Hey, don’t throw my clothes,” he complained, his words sounding somewhat off due to his nose being clogged.

“Then stop sneezing.”

In the darkness she was barely able to see Ichigo sitting up in bed. His form darker than the shadows around him.

“I can’t help i-“ his sentence being cut off as he let out another sneeze.

A few soft squeaks coming from under the desk alerted Rukia that Kon was awake now too. How the mod-soul could sleep through all those sneezes earlier was beyond her.

“You should just try and hold the sneezes in Ichigo,” Kon suggested, nodding his stuffed head wisely, ever the helpful friend.

“That’s stupid! I don’t wanna blow my brains out.”

“Nuh-uh. I heard your dad tell Karin to hold her breath and pinch her nose before to make it go away. And he’s like a doctor or something right? He knows what he’s talking about.” The squeaking noise getting increasingly louder the more worked up Kon became.

“That’s to make hiccups go away dumbass,” Ichigo growled.

A small tussle could be heard, and a loud thud told Rukia that the two had probably tried to fight like usual, resulting in Ichigo falling to the floor.

“You’re both idiots. So settle down.” She fully leaned out of the closet now, hands gripping the edge, having half a mind to go over there and clunk their heads together.

She blinked and in the next second she was blinded as a soft material whacked her in the face.

“WHAT THE HELL!?” She yelled as she pulled the offending material off, realizing it was the shirt she had thrown at Ichigo a few minutes ago.

“I’m just returning it to the closet where it came from,” Ichigo teased.

“Why you-“ she hurled the shirt right back at him with astounding force.

This time ready for it, he caught the projectile with ease.

“Gonna have to do better than that,” he said while readying the piece of clothing for another round of back and forth.

Quickly seeing where this was going, Rukia slid the door shut as a protective barrier against the return shot. A soft thud against the wood telling her that she had closed it just in time. The complete darkness of the space taking over her vision.

“You should try going to sleep again,” she called out through the door, trying to end this maturely, because she knew this could last all night with Ichigo’s, and her own, stubborn nature.

It was quiet for a couple minutes as Rukia listened for sounds outside her room. There was an almost inaudible shuffling of feet and the rustling of sheets being moved, letting Rukia know that Ichigo was most likely crawling back into bed.

Or so she believed.

She jumped as the door to her room was suddenly slid open.

Against the shadowy gray of night, she could see the towering figure with spiky hair above her as he dropped the shirt back onto her head.

Letting out a growl, she tore the piece of clothing off, feeling her hair frizz up a little bit at the friction caused by the cotton shirt being pulled off so fast.

Obviously finding it amusing, Ichigo let out a short laugh that quickly turned into a cough. His eyes tearing up a little bit as that single cough turned into a chain of them.

“That’s what you get for laughing at me you idiot,” she chuckled, the last word coming out more affectionate than she meant to.

Standing up in the closet, she was able to reach his head for once, which she took advantage of by shoving the shirt once more onto him. This time rubbing it roughly over his hair, no doubt leaving it a wilder mess than usual.

“Rukia! Stop that,” he whined while pushing the shirt off and letting it fall onto the floor with a soft flutter.

Rukia’s eyes strayed from the now frizzy orange halo surrounding Ichigo’s head, to the warm brown eyes that were crinkled at the edges in happiness.

There was a tingling sensation that traveled up the back of her arms and into her shoulders, making them tremble with some unknown emotion.

She never felt as safe or at home than when looking into this human’s eyes.

It made her wonder, that maybe this is what she had been missing for all these years...

Maybe she can be happy here fore-

“Achoooo!”

Jumping back to avoid being hit by Ichigo’s sneeze, even though he caught most of it in the crook of his arm as he tried to cover his nose, Rukia sighed in exasperation.

“Goodnight Ichigo,” she said, while sliding the door closed once more in his face. “Don’t get germs in my room.”

A muffled ‘goodnight’ could be heard as she settled back under the covers, preparing to use Kon’s stuffing as earplugs if necessary to get some sleep tonight.

As she laid in bed, and listened to the occasional squeak, or the creaking of weight being shifted on the bed out there, Rukia couldn’t help but think how right all of this felt.

Which sounds strange coming from a girl who lives in a closet for a room, but that is just temporary, it is all just temporary...

A soft sneeze echos from outside the closet, causing a small smile to tug at her lips.

_But hopefully some things can stay the same._

 

x    x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x   x

 

Staring up at the white clouds drifting across the sky, a fierce autumn wind tugged at the pink scarf Rukia had wrapped around her neck that morning before heading for school.

She had decided to wait outside the Kurosaki residence as Ichigo last minute ate his breakfast for the day. The idiot insisting he was feeling well enough to attend classes, even though she had argued differently.

Rukia turned as the front door opened and closed to reveal a somewhat disheveled looking Ichigo, a blue face mask tied in place to cover his mouth. She supposed it was the least he could do to try and prevent this cold from spreading further.

They nodded to each other before beginning their now routine walk to the high school.

It was only when they were just a few blocks from their destination that they crossed paths with Chad, his curly brown hair being tussled by the wind, revealing his usually covered eyes. The way he held his arms seemed different than usual, and his jacket was bunched up awkwardly to the right side. She wasn’t going to mention it and apparently didn’t have to as Ichigo stepped forward.

“What’cha got there Chad?” He asked, with his blue mask bouncing up and down with every word. “It’s not another bird is it?”

Ichigo tried peaking into his friends jacket to get a clue what he was holding.

“It’s not... a bird. This time,” Chad admitted, as he opened up his coat to show he friend what he had. Not a second later, out popped the head of what was in fact not a bird, but a small cat. It’s tabby brown fur ruffled from being in the tight space.

“Before you ask, no, it’s not a lost soul like last time. I found it cornered in an alley by some punk kids who were throwing stones at it."

“Those bastards, I say after school we track 'em down," Ichigo said while cracking his knuckles. "But for now... I don’t know how you are going to sneak it past the teachers. Although, if they are too oblivious to notice Kon I’m sure this won’t be much different,” Ichigo smirked, lightly punching Chad in the shoulder. A loud offended squeak could be heard from inside his backpack.

Chad went to say something else, but was cut off as Ichigo let out a tremendous sneeze that almost took his face mask off.

Rukia rolled her eyes, steadfast in her earlier judgment that he should have stayed home today. “You going to admit I was right yet?”

“Never! I can’t just miss school Rukia,” Ichigo bristled, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.

“Your attendance is already horrendous, not like another day will matter,” she snorted, waving her hand flippantly.

“She has a point Ichigo,” Chad shrugged. “And I’m honestly surprised they haven’t called your dad yet about it.”

“They have, but dad is... dad, so it’s no big deal.”

Chad and Rukia nodded understanding.

Watching as another sneeze tore through Ichigo, she suddenly sensed a change in the air. The wind from earlier had stopped in the middle of their argument, and now held a different chill to it, one that she came to closely associate with hollows.

Violet eyes narrowing she quickly scanned the area, her change in demeanor being noticed by the other two who took defensive stances.

The cat being held in Chad’s arms made a fearful yowl as it wiggled free of his hold, and dashed between the fence posts across the sidewalk, the tabby tip of its tail disappearing in a flash.

Not a second later a giant fist came pounding down on the concrete beside Rukia, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

The pavement cracked and rumbled, as she dodged to the side out of reach. The attack had caught her off guard, but she quickly prepared herself as she slipped on her red finger-less glove.

She dashed towards Ichigo, aiming the palm wearing the glove directly over his chest, preparing to extract his soul reaper form.

But she realized too late that something was amiss as her hand made contact and instead of the usual result she saw Ichigo’s eye bulge in pain, his feet stumbling back to try and keep his balance.

Rukia hesitated as she had an internal debate whether or not she should try the glove again, _is it because of the cold?_ , but this hesitation gave the hollow enough time to swipe it’s giant claw at them.

The looming shadowy beast roared in its attack, twin tails swiping back and forth in agitation, but all she could hear was the pounding of blood in her ears, and the ringing thought that she _must_ protect Ichigo.

But he must have had a similar thought to hers, because in that split second, she felt strong hands grip her shoulders and the next thing she knew she was falling backwards, watching Ichigo take the brunt of the hit, his body colliding with the sidewalk hard.

“ICHIGO!” She felt rather than heard herself scream out.

Scrambling back to her feet she rushed towards his still body, falling to her knees beside him. His head was titled to the side, eyebrows drawn together in pain. The mask that had been covering his mouth now dangled around his neck, a speck of blood on it.

Hearing the creature give another roar she reluctantly turned away to see Chad struggling to drag it away from them by its tail. Judging by the grimace on his face he wouldn’t last long against the hollows strength as it was determined to get back to its original prey, it's jaws snapping in hunger.

Getting to her feet, Rukia took a defensive stance in front of Ichigo. Her soul reaper powers may be weakened at the moment but she could still fight the likes of this beast... she hoped.

But luck was on her side, as a sharp flash of light from the left cut through the air to lodge itself in the hollows head breaking its mask in half. The beast violently shook its head in pain, trying to dislodge the glowing arrow.

She knew instinctively that it was Uryu with his hollow destroying powers at work. She would have preferred to purify its soul, but the situation at hand wouldn’t allow for that. She was just grateful her and Chad didn’t have to deal with it.

Letting out a sigh as the hollow screeched for the last time before dissolving, she turned away from the sight to another which was just as painful.

Once more she leaned over Ichigo, checking to make sure he was still breathing. This is the last thing he needed on top of the cold and lack of sleep.

_I wonder if him being sick really is the reason I couldn’t push his soul out earlier?_ She questioned to herself. It’s not like they’ve tried to do that before under those circumstances.

Bringing her fingers to softly brush through his orange hair she felt something wet. Stilling her movements, she had an idea what it was, and hoped it wasn’t true, as she brought her hand up to see, her pale skin now coated in a thin layer of blood. He must have hit his head when he landed.

Eyes widening, she frantically tried to think about everything she knew about head injuries. Putting pressure on the wound with her hand, she knew that if he didn't wake up they would have to take him to a proper hospital and not just his dad's at home office.

“Ichigo! Ichigo! Come on, wake up!” She said, while gently shaking his shoulders with her other hand.

His head lolled back and forth with the forced motion, only a slight tightening of his brows was an indication that he could hear her.

“Come on you stupid lug! I know you can hear me! Open your eyes!” She was halfway tempted to try and slap him awake, but knew that might only make things worse.

Hearing footsteps running up behind her, she wasn’t surprised when she saw out of the corner of her eye Chad crouching down beside her.

“Is he okay?” He asked, hands hovering but unsure what to do.

“Not sure. I would feel a lot better if he would respond in some way,” she said, voice tight in worry.

Sensing eyes watching her, she looked up to see Uryu watching from several feet away, looking hesitant if he should approach or go get help. It would be hard to explain why there was a giant crack in the ground and an unconscious teenager.

Just when Rukia was about to panic, a loud sound made her almost jump out of her skin. The body rocking beneath her as a loud sneeze ripped out into the air.

“Achooo!”

The boy beneath her sniffling as he squinted up at his friends.

“What... what happened to the hollow?”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Rukia closed her eyes for a second, body sagging towards the earth, before snapping them back open in anger.

“Don’t you _dare_ pull that heroic bullshit again Ichigo! I mean it this time,” she growled while poking him in the chest.

“Hey- hey! I didn’t ‘pull’ anything, my body acted on its own,” he defended himself, trying to sit up, but wincing as his hand cane up to touch the back of his head.

“Whatever, let’s just get you home,” she said as she crossed her arms.

“Yeah okay, I admit defeat, no school for me today.”

“Wow. All it took was some brain damage to knock some sense into you huh?”

“Ha ha. Hilarious, you should be a comedian. Retire from this whole soul reaper business to do stand up.”

Rukia silently glared in answer.

Cutting in, Chad went to help Ichigo sit up fully. “Alright, let’s take you home to your dad Ichigo. Not like he isn’t already used to this by now, but I’m sure he gets tired of having to give you stitches so often.”

“The perks of having a doctor for a dad I guess,” Ichigo lightly chuckled.

Helping him to his feet, Rukia looked around to see that Uryu had already taken off, and remarkably there weren’t other students around, most likely because the first class had already started for the day.

Oh well. It couldn’t be helped.

And how important is human school anyways?

Not worth more than the health and safety of Ichigo... In fact, there was very little that she valued more than that. His soft smile, that bright orange hair that spiked up in ridiculous directions, the way he would selflessly protect not only her but strangers who shouldn’t be worth risking his life for, and yet, he does, time and time again...

Rukia hadn’t realized she had been staring at him until they accidentally made eye contact as he looked down at her.

Blinking quickly and looking away, she felt her ears heat up for some unknown reason.

Ichigo was just about to ask what was wrong when, you guessed it, he sneezed.

“Achoo!”

“Bless you.”

**Author's Note:**

> \- Rukia called the closet she sleeps in “her room” in the live-action movie. I find that hilarious, I love it <3 she is so at home with him  
> \- While you might not blow your brains out by holding your sneezes in, it can still be bad for you, as the forced air pressure has no-where to go and can then do damage to the inner parts of your ears, such as; the eardrum and the small ear bones (ossicles). It’s not often this happens, but better safe than sorry. Just make sure to use a tissue or cover your mouth/nose ~  
> \- Why are the notes turning into medical advice idk ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
